Device for opening and closing receptacles for the reception of incandescent matter

ABSTRACT

A device for opening and closing a receptacle in accordance with the presence or absence of incandescent matter is provided. One or a plurality of infra-red radiation detectors are mounted in the receptacle and in accordance with an electronic amplifier system and an electro-mechanical control system will cause a flap of the receptacle to open in the presence of incandescent matter and to close in the absence thereof.

United States Patent 1 Etourneau 1 May 15, 1973 [54] DEVICE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING RECEPTACLES FOR THE RECEPTION OF INCANDESCENT MATTER [76] Inventor: Jean Pierre Etourneau, 69 Boulevard Carnot, Le Vesinet, France [22] Filed: Mar. 23,1971

[21] Appl. No.: 127,155

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 25, 1970 France 7010632 [52] US. Cl ..220/20.5, 220/36 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d 43/16 [58] Field of Search ..220/20.5, 36; 49/25,

[56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,994,572 7/1961 Morrison r ..49/25 X 2,665,129 1/1954 Dorbin et a1 ..49/1 X 2,111,009 3/1938 Smith ..160/5 3,507,445 4/1970 Breslow ..220/20.5 X

Primary Examiner-- Donald F. Norton A tmrney- Oblon. Fisher & Spivak [57] ABSTRACT A device for opening and closing a receptacle in ac cordance with the presence or absence of incandescent matter is provided. One or a plurality of infrared radiation detectors are mounted in the receptacle and in accordance 'with an electronic amplifier system and an electro-mechanical control system will cause a flap of the receptacle to open in the presence of incandes cent matter and to close in the absence thereof.

5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING RECEPTACLES FOR THE RECEPTION OF INCANDESCENT MATTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a new device for opening and closing receptacles of the type intended for receiving incandescent matter and more particularly to a new device for the opening and closing of receptacles by controlling the same in accordance with the presence or absence of such matter in the vicinity of an entrance to the receptacle.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the prior art it is a known practice to close receptacles of the type used for receiving incandescent matter, such as ashes, by means of a closure system which may be controlled as required. Generally it is important to close such receptacles at an appropriate time in order to prevent the emission of heat or smoke therefrom and, in some cases, to extinguish the matter contained therein by terminating the combustion present in the closed receptacle.

In the following description these receptacles will be referred to by way of example as ash trays, since these are the most commonly and frequently used to receive cigarette ashes.

Most of the devices in the prior art for closing ash trays include either a manual or mechanical opening which is of the non-automatic opening type. While somewhat satisfactory, often in order to prevent a user from having to control the opening and closing of the receptacle or to avoid any possible oversight or difficulties, it is desirable that the opening and closing operation be performed automatically.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved unique device for automatically opening and closing a receptacle in accordance with the presence or absence of incandescent material in the vicinity thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved unique device for automatically opening and closing a cigarette type ash tray upon the presence or absence of a lit cigarette.

One other object of the subject invention is to provide a new and improved unique device which includes an infra-red radiation detector for causing the appropriate opening and closing of a receptacle.

Briefly, in accordance with the present invention these and other objects are attained by the provision of a device for enabling the automatic opening and closing of a receptacle by means of a control system, such as one which includes an infra-red radiation detector. Thus, when incandescent matter which is emitting infra-red radiation is brought near to the entrance of the receptacle, the detector will cause the receptacle to open by way of an electronic and electro-mechanical system and when the incandescent matter has fallen into the receptacle so that infra-red radiation is no longer detected in the vicinity of the entrance, the receptacle will close by the effecting of a reverse operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of attendant advantages thereof will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a partially cut-away perspective view of a cigarette ash tray according to the present invention, and

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of an electronic controlling device according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof wherein an ash tray is shown as including a receptacle 1 for receiving incandescent matter and ash. The receptacle 1 can be emptied by any desired means as will be apparent from the following description. The receptacle 1 is mounted inside a housing 2 which is closed by a cover 3. Above the receptacle 1 an opening is provided which may be closed by a flap 4. The flap 4 is mounted on a rotatable axle 5 so that it may swing or pivot towards the interior of the receptacle 1 and thereby permit the passage and fall of any ash or incandescent matter, and then rise again to close the opening produced in the cover 3. Therefore, it should be understood that the dimensions of the flap 4 must be smaller than those of the interior of the receptacle I in order to permit the flap to swing up and down. The axle 5 is rotatably mounted on two tongues 6 and 7 which are secured under the cover 3 and a gear wheel 8 such, for example as a'bevel gear is mounted on one of the ends of the axle 5. The gear wheel 8 meshes with a second and similar type gear 9 and the same is rotatably driven by a driving and reducing means 10. The gear wheels 8 and 9 are arranged in such a manner that, when the cover .3 is raised, the gear wheels will disengage from one another, but when the cover 3 is returned to its original position, the two gear wheels 8 and 9 will again engage with one another. Such an operation will permit the opening and easy emptying of the ash tray receptacle 1. It should be apparent that other devices for preventing the opening of the cover 3 could readily be employed with the present invention, such for example as by means of a flap positioned at the bottom of the ash tray receptacle 1 and the housing 2.

The ash tray receptacle 1 is wedged in the housing 2 by any suitable means and, in some cases, can even be permanently fixed therein if the device is such as to permit easy emptying without the danger of spilling any ash or incandescent matter outside the ash tray receptacle I, i.e., in the space between the ash tray receptacle l and the housing 2. The approximately central opening produced in the cover 3 is defined by an edge 11 extending around the entire circumference thereof and forms the edge against which the flat 4 bears.

Supports 12 are provided in a conventional manner so that cigarettes can be deposited and supported with the incandescent portion lying above the flap. One or a plurality of holes 13 are provided in the edge-l1 and one or a plurality of infra-red radiation detectors 14 are secured therein. The detectors 14 can be of any known type, such for example as being formed by diodes of the photosensitive cell type. The presence of any incandescent matter emitting infra-red radiation in the vicinity of such detectors will produce a reaction in the detector which can be used to control the opening of the flap 4 by means of an electronic circuit which will be described below. The absence of excitation in the detector when incandescent matter falls into the ash tray receptacle 1 or by a cigarette resting on the supports 12 or being held in the vicinity thereof will cause a reverse mechanism to operate. Moreover, the reverse mechanism can, if desired, be assisted by a return-spring system or a counter weight system, thus making it possible to reduce the space occupied by the electromechanical device for opening and closing the flap and the energy necessary for its operation whereupon it becomes less important to have recourse to a current supply.

The driving and reducing means is schematically represented in FIG. 1 as a reducing motor unit, however, it can be easily understood that it may be replaced by any other suitable device such for example as one or a plurality of electro-magnets, the excitation or nonexcitation of which causes the flap 4 to open or close. Also, it should be understood that while the flap 4 is shown as being opened by a swinging or pivoting movement about a horizontal axis, that without departing from the scope of the present invention, it is possible to provide devices having one or a plurality of flaps opening along any desired axis, such for example as with the air of sliding plates rotating about a vertical axis or cone-shaped devices moving up and down in a cylindrical opening.

The electrical and electronic system of the present invention includes a current supply represented in FlG. 1 by a set of batteries 15 which are held in a support 16 fixed to the housing 2 and mounted in series by means of any conventional device. The three batteries shown in FIG. 1 are mounted with two of them standing and the other being inverted so that they may be connected in series by means of two connecting devices. One of the battery connections (not shown) is located at the bottom of the support 16 and connects the lower pole of the battery 15 which is connected to the upper pole of the battery 15 by means of a conventional device 17 which can be fixed, for example, to the cover 3. The electro-motive force of the set of batteries in series is therefore regulated between the upper pole 18 of the battery 15" and the lower pole 19 of the battery 15. The detector 14 is connected to an electronic circuit which essentially includes an amplifier and the circuit can be mounted on a board 20 which may be printed or even integrated circuits and the same is in turn connected to the current supply 15,15',l5" and the electromechanical device 10. The detector is therefore connected to the current supply via the circuit board amplifying device and to the electromechanical device 10 by the same amplifier.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of an electronic device suitable for mounting upon the board 20 of FIG. 1 and the same is shown as including between a pair of terminals 21 and 22 of the current supply, an

infra-red detector 23 formed by a diode-type cell, such for example as the type known in the trade under the name O.A.P.l2, and two transistors 24 and 25 which combine with their associated circuit elements to form an amplifying device.

The electro-mechanical system is schematically represented in HQ. 2 by an electro-magnet 26. It should be apparent that one or a plurality of detectors and one or a plurality of electro-mechanical control devices can be utilized as required, depending essentially on the importance of the dimensions of the opening, the flow of incandescent matter and ash, and the energy required for opening and closing the device which obstructs the entrance to the ash tray. The current supply is schematically represented in FIG. 1 by means of three batteries in series. Obviously, it is possible to provide any device which is fed either from independent supplies incorporated in the housing 2, or from an external supply such as a main supply, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The embodiment described above relates to an ash tray for cigarettes. Obviously, numerous modifications are possible in light of techniques of the present invention. Thus, for example, the present invention could be readily modified for application in all industries in which it is necessary to eliminate and enclose waste products which are brought to high temperatures, such as those which occur particularly in glass making, metallurgy, chemistry or mechanical engineering.

It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An ash tray comprising:

a receptacle having an entrance defined therefor;

a closure provided at said entrance;

means for detecting the presence of incandescent matter in the immediate vicinity of said entrance; and

means responsive to detection of said incandescent matter for automatically causing the opening of said closure and for causing said closure to close in the absence of incandescent matter in the vicinity of said entrance.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the detector is an infra-red radiation detector.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the detector controls the opening or closing of the closure by means of an electronic amplifier system and an electromechanical control system.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said closure means is a normally horizontal flap which is mounted on a rotatable axle.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4 wherein a first gear wheel is mounted on one end of said axle and wherein a second gear wheel meshes with said first gear wheel and is connected to said control system. 

1. An ash tray comprising: a receptacle having an entrance defined therefor; a closure provided at said entrance; means for detecting the presence of incandescent matter in the immediate vicinity of said entrance; and means responsive to detection of said incandescent matter for automatically causing the opening of said closure and for causing said closure to close in the absence of incandescent matter in the vicinity of said entrance.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the detector is an infra-red radiation detector.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the detector controls the opening or closing of the closure by means of an electronic amplifier system and an electro-mechanical control system.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said closure means is a normally horizontal flap which is mounted on a rotatable axle.
 5. A device as claimed in claim 4 wherein a first gear wheel is mounted on one end of said axle and wherein a second gear wheel meshes with said first gear wheel and is connected to said control system. 